Summary
The War of the Rohirrimisn’t just wearing its status as a prequel to Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Ringsmovieson its sleeve, but upon its helmet, armor, and boots too. After last stepping foot in Middle-earth with 2014’sThe Battle of Five Armies, the final installment of hisThe Hobbittrilogy, Peter Jackson is gradually being pulled back into the realm of J.R.R. Tolkien as Warner Bros. prepares to let its next volley of movie releases fly.
Next on the menu is upcominganime movieTheWar of the Rohirrim, set several hundred years prior to Frodo’s story and centered around a fight for the throne of Edoras and control of Rohan.The War of the Rohirrimis directed by Kenji Kamiyama, but Peter Jackson’s fingerprints are across it. Jackson himself is listed as an executive producer alongside fellowThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy mastermind Fran Walsh. Philippa Boyens, a co-writer onThe Lord of the RingsandThe Hobbit, is a producer on the 2024 movie, and her daughter, Phoebe Gittins, isThe War of the Rohirrim’s co-writer.
2024’s Lord Of The Rings Movie Explained: What “War Of The Rohirrim” Means
Set many years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, the War of the Rohirrim follows one of the most influential leaders in Rohan’s history.
The First 20 Seconds Of War Of The Rohirrim’s Trailer Is Taken From Peter Jackson’s LOTR Movies
It’s Okay, You Haven’t Accidentally Clicked An Old Trailer For The Two Towers
The War of the Rohirrim’s traileropens with “PETER JACKSON PRESENTS” emblazoned across a map of Rohan, and for a solid 20 seconds the footage is drawn exclusively from the director’sThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy, namelyThe Two Towers. The trailer focuses upon Ian McKellen’s Gandalf, Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn, and Orlando Bloom’s Legolas, while also revisiting the gorgeous Edoras sets that dazzled theater audiences in 2002. Eventually, the footage transitions into anime, butthe connection to the live-action trilogy and Peter Jackson is front and center.
The whiff of nostalgia is surprisingly strong for a movie that, both stylistically and narratively, has little to do with the story told byThe Lord of the Rings.
The strategy is understandable.The Lord of the Ringsremains one of the most financially successful and critically acclaimed movie trilogies ever put to film, while, as an animated movie crafted in a Japanese style,The War of the Rohirrimoccupies a less mainstream corner. Warner Bros. would almost be foolish not to call upon the power of Peter Jackson’s name and the renown of the original trilogy to promote its latest Middle-earth adventure. Even so, the whiff of nostalgia is surprisingly strong for a movie that, both stylistically and narratively, has little to do with the story told byThe Lord of the Rings.
War Of The Rohirrim Takes Place Within Peter Jackson’s Movie Canon
Peter Jackson’s Vision Of Middle-earth Grows Larger
The War of the Rohirrim’s Jackson-heavy trailer does at least provide very clear confirmation that the animated movie serves as a prequel to hisThe Lord of the Ringsseries and exists within the same universe. That may appear an obvious statement that shouldn’t need making - a story set 200 years beforeThe Lord of the Ringsis obviously a prequel. Because therights to Tolkien’sThe Lord of the Ringsare messier than Radagast’s laundry, however, some releases -The Rings of Power, for instance - are set before Frodo’s quest, but do not explicitly exist within the canon of Peter Jackson’s movies.
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The Hobbit explores a time period before the Lord of the Rings, meaning Peter Jackson’s movies can be watched in more than one viewing order.
Quite cleverly,The War of the Rohirrimsets itself apart by connecting to Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Ringsmovies in the clearest way possible. Name-dropping Jackson himself, incorporatingThe Two Towersfootage, the transitional wipe from live-action to anime - everything is designed to cementThe War of the Rohirrimas a continuation of the iconic world Jackson brought to the big screen in the 2000s. From one perspective, it could be said thatThe War of the Rohirrimis pressing home an advantageThe Rings of Powerdoesn’t haveby calling upon the belovedThe Lord of the Ringsmovies.
War Of The Rohirrim’s Trailer Is Just The Start Of Warner Bros. Banking On Your LOTR Nostalgia
The War of the Rohirrim’s trailer comes with a healthy dose of nostalgia, and that aftertaste will linger for a while yet. In addition to 2024’s animated release, Andy Serkis has aLord of the Ringsmovie based around Gollumin production, and his movie is touted as the beginning of a new dawn for Middle-earth in movie theaters. Evidently,Warner Bros. is looking to unearth more cinematic mithril from its Tolkien mine, and the mere concept of making a Gollum solo movie set so close toThe Fellowship of the Ringsuggests Serkis' project will, likeThe War of the Rohirrim, embrace its roots within Peter Jackson’s movies.
How successful that strategy will be remains to be seen. On one hand, Tolkien’s gargantuan Middle-earth legendarium ensures no shortage of material to pull from. Warner Bros. could draw from that well for decades and never reach the bottom. On the other hand,The Lord of the Ringsis a relatively small chapter in Arda’s history, and not many of Tolkien’s wider stories naturally connect to Frodo and company.
2024’s New Lord Of The Rings Movie Is A Slap In The Face For Rings Of Power Season 2
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim steps on the toes of Prime Video’s existing prequel and has a better chance for public approval.
EvenThe War of the Rohirrim’s relationship to the main movies is passing at best - the link to Rohan and Helm’s Deep doing a lot of heavy lifting. More Middle-earth content makes sense for Warner Bros., but sooner or later, those stories will need to stand alone without summoning the potent influence of Peter Jackson.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Set before the events of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an animated action-adventure fantasy film that follows a King of Rohan named Helm Hammerhand. When his home comes under siege by Dunlendings, Hammerhand prepares himself and his allies to fight back against them, with the war leading to the eventual establishment of Helm’s Deep.
